Finding and Choosing a Dentist

[drjdsjr]

Oy, weh! I just read a little further in the article that suggested I post here and it said (I'm paraphrasing), "Hey, fool! Don't put this here if it's already on your blog!" Now I don't know how to erase it. Sorry, won't happen again.

TEXT: You’re in a new town/city or your just ready for a change. How do you find your new dentist? It’s not a trivial task. You could ask a friend or relative. “Go to mine. She has such a nice personality.” You leave the dentist’s personality at the door when you walk out. You don’t choose him because he’s close. You’re going to take his work with you around the world. And you don’t go just because it’s cheap or he’s on your “plan”. You don’t always get what you pay for in life, but you always pay for what you get. So, how do you do it? An ad? A Yellow Pages entry? A referral from a professional society? I don’t think so.

You go to those who have real good reason to know and whose vested interest coincides with yours! That doesn’t mean Craig’s list or a ********** site. Patients simply don’t know. They really don’t know what good dentistry is and they wouldn’t be able to evaluate it in their own mouths anyway even if they did. I’m been a practicing dentist for 30 years and I can’t do it as well as another dentist looking in my mouth! The sample size (just them and their family & friends) is too small and once again, they really can’t know. You don’t go to the dentist’s site, because even if it looks great and he seems super up to date, high tech and knowledgeable, he still might have ten thumbs and the ethics of Nixon. Enough of this. I could go on and on, but here it is and why:

Get on a map site. I’m most familiar with Google Maps. Put yourself in the center and do a search for specialists like periodontists or oral surgeons. These specialists not only see the work of those general practitioners who refer to them, but they also talk to them and know what kind of people they are. Call six of these offices and ask what general dentists they would recommend. If the same name comes up two or three times, you’ve found your dentist. You are not going to be given the name of a hack (I’ve seen work that should not have gone in a dog’s mouth!), because specialists don’t like fixing the mistakes that others make. They want the good one to succeed and the hacks to go into fast food.

Afterthought: Which do you prefer: finding your own dentist and physician or having the government pick ‘em?
Visit my blog at:
http://drjdsjr.com

[4jacks]

That's a really good suggestion. I will definitely do that next time I need a dentist. I really like my Dentist now.

To delete your post, you have to hit the "edit post" button and then there is an option for "delete post"

I'm curious, what was the word that got starred ***** ? I read it as "A Review Site"

[pochax]

Yes, it is a good suggestion - but i will throw out an alternative theory that might have your strategy backfire. the folks that refer to the subspecialists are what drives the subspecialists' business. whether it is just the sheer number of referrals or their poor quality of work (that ultimately gets the patient to the subspecialist), the subspecialist may recommend someone that does poor work. it really depends on the subspecialist. i am not saying someone will consciously send you to someone that is bad, but if they are generating the most business for the subspecialist, their office may unintentionally think "hey Dr. Smith sends us a lot of patients...he clearly has a thriving practice" and refer you to Dr. Smith.

Most of primary dentistry is good preventative care and education. bedside manner (or chair-side manner in this case) does account for something although i grant that quality of work done is more important, but why can't you have both? also, sometimes you are kind of stuck by who takes your insurance limiting one's options as well.

[elenalee]

nice info given about choosing a dentist
its interesting
========
webicon